Trooper Patrick James Pentland, The Royal Canadian Dragoons (April
11, 2007)

Final funeral held in week of mourning for fallen
Canadian soldiers

CHRIS MORRIS

Canadian Press

April 21, 2007 at 7:07 PM EST

Oromocto, N.B.  A
young Canadian soldier who loved children so much he
once asked about adopting an orphaned Afghan child has
been buried in his home province of New Brunswick.

Trooper Patrick James Pentland, 23, who was killed in
Afghanistan on April 11, was buried with full military
honours on Saturday  the last funeral for eight young
soldiers killed during Canada's deadliest week of combat
in Afghanistan.

About 800 mourners attended the funeral service for
Trooper Pentland, a member of the Royal Canadian
Dragoons, at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown near
Fredericton.

Although Trooper Pentland was based at CFB Petawawa
in Ontario, he had served earlier at Gagetown and his
family still lives near the New Brunswick base. His
father, Warrant Officer (retired) Jim Pentland, was a
former crewman with the Dragoons.

Members of the Royal
Canadian Dragoons carry the coffin of
Trooper Patrick James Pentland after his
funeral at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown,
N.B., on Saturday.
(Stephen MacGillivray/Canadian Press)

Friends and colleagues described Trooper Pentland as
a strong, big-hearted man who wanted nothing more in
life than to follow in the footsteps of his father and
grandfather, who also served in the military.

What a marvellous epitaph for a human being to leave
behind  that he was considered genuine and that he had
such respect for his family he wanted to do the things
his father had done, said Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen
Cadden, commander of the Dragoons.

Padre Alex Varga told the funeral service that
Trooper Pentland once asked relatives about the
possibility of adopting an orphan in Afghanistan and
bringing the child back to Canada.

He loved children, Mr. Varga said of Trooper
Pentland, who was not married and had no children of his
own.

Mr. Varga comforted the Pentland family with a homily
that stressed the need for faith in eternal life.

God did not take Patrick, Mr. Varga told the
mourners. A war took Patrick; evil in the world took
Patrick. God caught him when he fell and now God carries
him safely into eternal life.

Trooper Pentland died when the light-armoured vehicle
he was driving hit a roadside bomb near Kandahar. Also
killed in the blast was Master Corporal Allan Stewart,
whose funeral was held at Petawawa on Friday.

Trooper Pentland's funeral ends a difficult and sad
week for the Canadian military and relatives of the dead
soldiers.

Funerals began on Wednesday for six soldiers killed
on Easter Sunday when the light-armoured vehicle in
which they were travelling struck a roadside bomb.

Corporal Brent Poland, Master Corporal Christopher
Stannix, Sergeant Donald Lucas, Corporal Aaron Williams,
Private Kevin Kennedy and Private David Greenslade were
killed instantly in the explosion. The six were buried
in their home provinces in Atlantic Canada and Ontario.

The soldiers were members of the 2nd Battalion, Royal
Canadian Regiment, based at CFB Gagetown.

MCpl. Stewart and Trooper Pentland, who both served
with the Royal Canadian Dragoons based at CFB Petawawa,
died three days after the Easter Sunday attack in a
similar roadside bombing.

The deaths marked the deadliest week for Canadians in
combat since the Korean War.

A ninth soldier, 25-year-old Anthony Klumpenhower who
served with elite special forces, died last week after
he fell from a communications tower while on duty
conducting surveillance in Kandahar City.

Since 2002, 54 Canadian soldiers and one Canadian
diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.

Officials at CFB Gagetown said a memorial service for
all of the recent casualties is being planned for
Wednesday at the base.